The Torben Sørensen collection of glass will be sold at Bruun-Rasmussen next week. The collection centers around the three most prominent countries in European glass making in the 20th century, especially from 1915-1970, namely Italy, Sweden and Finland. First of all I would like to applaud the initiative from Bruun-Rasmussen of making such great catalogue and two promotional videos; one with a short introduction by the curator. I feel their effort is the only way to elevate the objects and create a larger interest for Scandinavian modernist glass. That is not to say I like everything in the collection but as far as Swedish glass goes there are a few pieces I really like such as the small thick-walled graal before it was blown and covered in clear glass, a Öhrström Ariel from 1950, a large Simon Gate graal, and a playful yet elegant sculptural “expo” vase by Ingeborg Lundin.

There is also a rare figurative Ravenna by Palmqvist. It does not really look like any Ravenna I have seen in person by him before but having found the drawing in the archives it is quite clear his imagination sort of left the byzantine church mosaics in Northern Italy to the nude beach.

Lot 972 has been catalogued as Barbini and one of the four vases is apparently signed Barbini. These fairly common vases were actually designed by Margereta Hennix for Johansfors and first revealed at the "7 formgivare" exhibition in 1965. It just goes to show how misleading signatures can be. In fact people are obsessed with signatures. This is the reason why forgers sign unsigned pieces. For instance, in the 1980's a lot of second factory Kosta glass by Vicke Lindstrand were unfortunately bought by dealers who signed them with the "right" signature. A collector of Lindstrand should therefor always look at the signature AND the execution of the piece. Especially with Swedish glass, where so much was signed and recorded in the archives, the lack of a signature automatically gives the feeling that the stamp of approval is missing and thus indicates low quality. It is difficult to know if those tampering decided to sign unsigned pieces thinking they corrected a mistake or simply did it for financial gain. Both, probably. It is a bit worrying when these mistakes become even more flagrant in the literature. For instance, Brilliance of Swedish glass 1918-1939, purports to show a tazza by Knut Bergqvist. That particular one is apparently signed "K.B. 1927" and was at the time a part of the Birgitta Crafoord collection, today in the collection of a major Scandinavian gallery. In reality the tazza is way too generic to be included in the book and would certainly not have been mentioned nor illustrated on a full page had they known it was a common production piece designed by Nils Landberg from a line of transparent glass with an abundance of decorative applications (inspired by antique venetian glass). The original drawing dated 1966 speaks for itself.

Before our update to the inventory next week I tought it a fun diversion to write a few words on the interesting painting of a glassblower by Vicke Lindstrand for sale tomorrow at Uppsala auktionskammare.

Lindstrand is one of few glass designers that made sketches of his workers. In the Småland museum archive there are a dozen of them, and in these drawings Lindstrand captures the spirit and vitality of the glassblowers at Orrefors in the 1930's. You can practically feel their deft movements working the material. (The sense of movement, a core characteristics of modernism, is unfortunately lacking in his later more conventional drawings from the 1950's at Kosta). This is one of the reasons why I think the approximate dating by Uppsala Auktionskammare to 1940-1950's is incorrect. First of all in 1940 he left Orrefors and was not hired at Kosta until 1952, so the 1940's is out of the question since he had signed an agreement with Orrefors to not make any glass designs for other companies during a period of ten years. He was also most prolific as a painter in the 1920's-1930's and stylistically this painting bears a stronger resemblance to this early period where his lines often were clearly defined and based on geometric shapes in a sort of semi-cubism. Most importantly, if one compares the painting to one sketch in particular from Orrefors in the 1930's the model that he based the painting on is most likely revealed. He probably took the sketch home and put it next to the empty canvas. Lindstrand then used a color scheme to emphasize the ferocious heat of the furnace and reduced the space into geometric shapes. Something very telling can be said about the latter. Notice that only the glass, furnace and glassblower are represented in circular lines and how this formal structure appear to create a spiritual bond between glass and glassblower, maker and material. They are one.

Öhrström Ariel, 1951. Partly why the sharp zigzag pattern works so well is the roundness of the bowl which creates a dynamic contrast between form and decoration.

As a young painter and sculptor in Paris Öhrström was taught by both Legér, the fiercely avantgarde purist painter, and Despiau who embraced the archaic classical figure in antique sculpture. Two entirely different kinds of artists. It was a confusing experience.

Shortly after his time in Paris he was hired by Orrefors to work for Edward Hald where he became, in my opinion, their best artist working in the Ariel technique. As a painter/sculptor he is regarded as a peripheral figure in Swedish art history - and quite rightly so. The commissions he was granted later in life as sculptor, one has to admit, were based on his achievements at Orrefors. It is true his large sculptures were often made in glass, a difficult thus limiting material for a sculptor to work in, but they often lacked the immediacy and expressiveness of his best Ariels.

It was at Orrefors that Öhrström, then a young inexperienced painter and sculptor, was given the opportunity to work both in sculptural form and colour drawing from his experience as both painter and sculptor. The newly invented Ariel technique was the perfect medium to merge the thick sculptural glass object with a painterly modernist touch. Over the years Öhrström made both sketches for strictly geometric patterns with more than an echo of contemporary abstract art, such as this bowl, and also figurative cubist(esque) designs; the latter in a style somewhat reminiscent of Picasso and clearly borrowing from the Spaniards favourite repertoire of motifs such as the dove and the bull fighter.

This beautiful bowl is an early Ravenna by Sven Palmqvist and one of the most exquisite we have seen. It has the mesmerizing quality of the awe inspiring Roman mosaics that Palmqvist was inspired by when he developed his famous technique. Sold to a private collection.

Antikmässan is the largest fair for art, design and antiques in Sweden and will take place next week February 15-18th in Älvsjö, Stockholm. This year we will show a small selection of Swedish glass such as the two beautiful slipgraals above by Edward Hald for Orrefors - both acquired from American collections. Other designers are Edvin Öhrström, Hugo Gehlin, Ingeborg Lundin, Luciano Vistosi, Ercole Barovier, Toni Zuccheri, Lena Bergström, Eva Englund, Sven Palmqvist, Oiva Toikka and Tapio Wirkkala.

Charlotte and Peter Fiell have written a new standard reference book on Modern Scandinavian Design which some of you may have seen in bookshops the past few weeks presented as the perfect Christmas gift. We are glad to announce that they have included and highlighted our Slip Graal vase - the very same - on a full page in their chapter on Scandinavian glass.

"In 1933 he was appointed managing director of Orrefors, and under his leadership the glass-works continued production throughout the war, despite a severe decrease in exports and a shortage of materials. It was during this period that Hald invented [...] the Slip Graal. [Which] involved carving ridges into a sandwich layer of coloured glass. The lively designs shown here, which were created in the mid 1950s using this technique, demonstrate Hald's mastery of glass as an expressive medium."

Anna Åkerdahl, large Mosaico vase for Ferro Toso, 1920, in the Weisman collection.

The life and work of Anna Åkerdahl has been obscured to such an extent that she probably will not get the praise and recognition she deserves. Why any important artist falls into oblivion, or even never in his or her lifetime stepped into the limelight, is a field of study that has been researched extensively by art historians. The pattern is clear: unless the artist's oeuvre was not to according contemporary taste (i.e. usually either too groundbreaking, too traditional, or deemed too foreign) and was ignored/misunderstood for this reason, explanations are normally to be found in variables related to the identity of the artist such as gender, ethnicity and social background.

Considering that art and design history was written from 1) a national point of view until the late 20th century and 2) mostly by men (often about their male friends) it does not take much to explain why Åkerdahl never was relevant enough for Swedish design critics and historians. The consequences of this silent dismissal, which was harsh reality for many women artists, especially those living abroad, hampered their careers as the market wanted famous designer names to their products. It is also partly why so little until recently had been written about a prominent designer/artist such as Tyra Lundgren. This is certainly the case with Anna Åkerdahl too, but there are other explanations that I think are more important.

First of all she was a Swedish woman working in Italy. It is probably no coincidence that several Swedish women designers worked in Venice in the first half of the 20th century: besides Åkerdahl there were Tyra Lundgren for Venini and famous textile designer Maja Sjöström. (Sjöström visited Venice for the first time in 1918 to oversee the production of her textile commission for Stadshuset in Stockholm. Being a true glass aficionado, Sjöström wrote about Murano glass in Swedish magazines and imported Italian faience, glass and textiles for her luxury shop specialised in Italian crafts, Blå boden, which was run by her sisters in Southern Sweden.).

Gender equality in Swedish art education had simply come a lot farther in Sweden than in Italy and all over Europe the art industry needed women in the workforce after the first world war which, with its millions of killed and wounded young men, had left behind an unprecedented shortage of able men . A rather exceptional portion of the successful Swedish women designers, such as already mentioned Lundgren and Sjöström, never married – and a dozen of other women designers can be added to that list. It was clearly a career strategy to avoid becoming someone's housewife. Åkerdahl however did marry and while she never became a typical housewife she was quickly overshadowed by her younger man: Guido Balsamo Stella.

Anna and Guido married in 1908. They seem to have lived together in Munich for some time until, at the outbreak of war, they decide to move to Stockholm. Besides some minor graphic works for Guido the years in Sweden were decisive for his budding career as a glass designer. It was at Orrefors that he studied their masterful glass engraving techniques which eventually were to put Simon Gate and Edward Hald at the world stage in Paris 1925. Guido and Edward Hald became good friends and Guido was later, with the help of Bohemian artist Franz Pelzel, to transplant his understanding of glass engraving to Italy with his engraved designs at Ferro Toso and later S.A.L.I.R.

When Guido and Anna moved back to Italy in 1919 they both worked briefly for Artisti Barovier/Vetreraria Artistica Barovier. In late 1920 (often erroneously noted as opening 1921) Guido Balsamo Stella and Anna Åkerdhal were put in charge of the commercial Italienska utställningen at Liljevalchs in Stockholm. The rare catalogue, which unfortunately lacks illustrations, reveals that Andre Rioda (who died the year after) showcased a number of works for Arte Decorativa Vetraria. Fratelli Toso was also represented as was Vetreria Artistica Barovier and SAIAR Ferro Toso. Besides art glass by Wolf-Ferrari the only designers representing Vetraria Artistica Barovier were Anna and Guido Balsamo Stella. In addition the couple also showed recent pieces made at Ferro Toso which altogether must have been a rather impressive body of work. It is important to note that their works are not mentioned as collaborations.

Exactly what they showed has been almost impossible to know since there are no photos from the exhibition in the Liljevalchs archives. A lidded red urn said to be by Guido was however acquired by the National Museum in Stockholm and a similar urn attributed to Guido surfaced on the Swedish auction market a few years ago. They both carry the “comet” signature that Guido previously had used in his printmaking. If understood correctly it was not until Rosa Barovier-Mentasti catalogued a private collection that surfaced the art market as Important glass 1910-1960 (Sotheby's, Geneva 1990) that a spectacular vase in the mosaico technique - often seen as a pinnacle in early modern Murano glassmaking - was attributed to Anna Åkerdahl rather than, as had been previously thought, the arguably best designer of mosaico glass: Vittorio Zecchin. Barover-Mentasi had found that the murrine in the mosaico vase matched similar triangular murrine illustrated in a contemporary magazine Architettura e Arti Decorative (1921) showing glass by Anna that was exhibited in Stockholm. Interestingly this vase was signed with a comet, meaning that Anna and Guido, at least occasionally, were using the same signature. This vase is now in the Wiesman collection and illustrated in Venetian Art Glass - An American collection (Barovier, 2004).

When you then compare other simpler works by Åkerdahl illustrated in the same magazine they bear a a rather close resemblance to the already mentioned lidded urns by Guido. In the magazine there are altogether five pieces of mosaico glass by Åkerdahl: two plates, two chalices and one vase. One of the chalices is today in a Torinese private collection and is illustrated in Il vetro a Venezia (1999).

In the National Museum in Stockholm I recently noticed that Swedish architect Ferdinand Boberg, a friend of Anna Åkerdahl, had donated a vase by Anna to the museum. The gourd-shaped vase has never been illustrated in any Swedish or Italian publication on glass, and unfortunately never even been on display either. The strong resemblance in form and colour to the vase in the middle of the magazine illustration and the fact that it belonged to a Swedish architect make a very strong case for it having been a part of the Liljevalchs exhibition of Italian design in 1920-1921. What we don't know yet, however, is what designs she made for Barovier - though the catalogue mentions both art glass and more utilitarian pieces of glass. (The catalogue does specify that Guido's art glass designs for Barovier used the zanfirico technique).

It is a shame that glass of this extraordinary quality and importance by Anna has not received much recognition while, on the other hand, the early career of her husband Guido has. I think however there is enough evidence that the most spectacular pieces, the mosaicos, by Ferro Toso (and hypothethically Barovier) were designed by Anna rather than Guido. We have to bear in mind that the best mosaico vases today are far more valuable than any piece of Scandinavian glass ever made, including the early ariels by Orrefors, and sought after by private collectors and museum all over the world. This raises questions as to why and how Anna Åkerdahl has received no recognition still in this age when there have been several state sponsored exhibitions about 20th century women designers in the name of equality. I don't think it has to do so much with her not really being a part of the Swedish design concept aesthetically, or excluded for geographical reasons, so much that nobody knows about her anymore. Which is unfortunate.

What her contribution was to the SALIR company is not something I have looked much into – if it even is possible to know. It is rather telling of the time that Guido's growing reputation as a designer made it important to downplay their collaborative relationship. There are a important works by Guido from the late 1920's and early 1930's that bear resemblance to earlier designs known to be by his wife.

During this time Anna worked mainly as an exhibition curator and a teacher in weaving and textile design. She did introduce modern Swedish weaving techniques to Italy but there is nothing in her background that I am aware of to suggest her shifting focus from glass to textiles. Rather I think it had to do with her husband being an easier name to brand and also with the increasing limitations and fewer opportunities for women in Italy. In Made in Italy: rethinking Italian design (2013)we find this interesting passage by Elena Dellapiana:

New professors, particularly foreign hires, brought northern European educational models to Italy. Among them [...] Anna Åkerdahl, the Swedish wife of Balsamo Stella and also his assistant director, coordinated the newly established weaving workshop. The weaving workshop was restricted to women only, who were excluded from boarding at the school and from other workshop due to Fascist regulations demanding seperate classes for men and women, while shared accommodations were considered improper.

Åkerdahl's contribution to Italian design did not stop there however. She wrote articles on design for Domus that were full of insight. The lengthy piece she wrote on the Stockholm Exhibiton in 1930 is one of many examples where she introduced contemporary Swedish design to Italian readers. The biggest surprise I got was however when I found an article written by Emilio Lancia in the same magazine. The young Italian critic and architect - friend of both Venini and Buzzi - was praising Anna Åkerdahl's newly built house that she had designed herself planned as an ancient Tuscan villa in a modern style. (Emilio Lancia, Villa Orsetta in Firenze disegnata da Anna Balsamo-Stella, Domus 10, 1929).

As a final anecdote showing the complete disregard for this incredible woman and her achievements this very same Florentine house with an inventory of design treasures was donated to the Swedish Academy to be used by young Swedish writers. They turned her generous offer down in a dry public statement. Who the hell was she anyway?

This incredible vase is a very rare piece by famous glass designer Simon Gate and a personal favourite. The model was first shown at the famous Stockholm exhibition in 1930 and only in production during a brief period - this particular vase dated 1931. It is the perfect combination of exquisite simplicity and the beautiful workmanship at Orrefors in its interwar heyday. The vases were too expensive and time consuming to make for being able to find a wider audience, but also not bourgeois or traditional enough to attract the people that bought the classicist engraved glass (which had received world recognition at the Paris world exhibition in 1925). A couple of other vases with similar blue inclusions in the glass were shown at the important Stockholm exhibition as can be seen in period photographs, the only example in this brief series we have seen ourselves in person was sold at Phillips 2012, there are however no earlier or later counterparts in the history of glass making at Orrefors. I wish Simon Gate would have pursued this path further.

Unique vase by Vicke Lindstrand. It has all the characteristics: the deep sommerso, the outer layer of rectangular graffiti-like patterns, the triangular shape, the thickness of the glass, the size, and the typical pontil. A similar vase is illustrated in Glas in Schweden by Helmut Ricke, page 218-219. These were however made a little later than Ricke suggests - mid 1960's rather than 1950's. This is the tallest example I've seen, measuring 29cm/11.5".

This large vase by Sven Palmqvist is a unique "Kraka" design. The technique, invented by Palmqvist, creates the illusion of a net in the glass - usually a very fine meshed one inside the glass which was created by the use of a copper net tool in the making of the piece. (Some of these vases were made in large numbers and we have a trio of them in mint condition).

In our research we could only find one similar design to the large Kraka. It actually (no 448) appeared a few times in auction results (Wright for instance) and when looking in Helmut Ricke's book "Glas in Schweden" it turns out that the similar Kraka vase in fact wasn't a unique piece, which the number usually indicates, but in an edition of six pieces.

Our illustrated vase (no. 447) however is unique piece. Ricke's information on the Kraka vases made during the early sixties indicates that production was at an all time low. Four designs were made in 1961, nothing 1962, seven in 1963, two in 1964, one in 1965, and one in 1966. The unique Krakas that I have seen from this period reveal a quest for more innovative designs. (At the same time a few older and more traditional designs were put into serial production). While information has been scarce in the reference literature Sven Palmqvist - Glaskonstnären (2006) mentions a third phase (the second being a sophisticated development of the first breakthrough) of the Kraka in the early sixties. Palmqvist developed these pieces together with Heinz Richter and our vase is a successful result of that collaboration. If the story is true they sacrificed Richter's mesh tank top... These pieces were probably the most expensive Kraka pieces Orrefors made.

Two large bowls by Sven Palmqvist for Orrefors. The technique he developed in 1948 was named "Ravenna" after the Italian coast city where Palmqvist became fascinated by the early Byzantine mosaics illuminated on the walls of the Mausoleum Galla Placidia: "I saw not walls but coloured air".

The concert hall in Helsingborg is, to me, one of Sven Markelius' most beautiful buildings and as such enjoy all the virtues of functionalism. I usually take a walk around it every time I'm nearby. During this late summer day the sun was setting and hence put almost everything in the shade, including the entrance and the big square in front of it, but like any great sculpture it can be viewed from all angles. It is designed as if it were ingeniously assembled by simple geometric shapes, so popular in architecture and modern painting at the time, such as circles, rhomboids, rectangles and the straight line. The white plaster gives a clear sense of space and visual serenity. There are many things I like about this building and the vertical strip window on the second photo is definitely one of them.